Children and young people (CYP) going through cancer treatment are encouraged to attend school as often as possible and should be at school whenever they feel well enough to attend. This allows them to stay in touch with their friends and peer group as well as providing the normality of a structured day and education.
This being said, children and young people with cancer often have gaps in their education (CCLG, 2014) and can be very reluctant to return to school. Children and young people will have access to education from hospital-based teachers whilst they are an inpatient. There is some regional variation in the delivery of hospital and home-based education; please click on the link below to see the regional set ups.
Children and young people who are not managing to attend school should be referred for part-time home tutoring. Again, there are regional variations in how this is actioned and in the availability of home education between education boards. Home education can take some time to set up, so this should be initiated as soon as it becomes clear that the child or young person is not going to return to school for some time.
The child or young person’s Paediatric Oncology Outreach Nurse Specialist (POONS), Community Nurse or Young Lives Vs Cancer Social Worker can meet with the school before their return and discuss any concerns both the school and the family may have. At this meeting a plan is made for the child or young person’s return to school. The nurse visit may be more appropriate if the main needs are around the diagnosis or health needs in school. A Social Worker visit many be more appropriate if the main needs are around coping (child, parent, school staff, classmates), separation anxiety between parent and the sick child, bullying or practical issues regarding transport to school, adaptations in routines.
The nurse can train staff on device safety if the child has a central line or nasogastric tube insitu, so they are confident what to do in an emergency at school.
The POONS will also explain and discuss with the school how best to keep the child or young person safe from the infections that are a threat to their health – for example chickenpox, measles and shingles. The school is advised they must develop a robust system (normally a standardised letter to all parents/carers) to ensure that parents/carers of other children in the school will let the school know right away if their child is ill with a childhood infectious disease. A template letter is available on the CCLG booklet ‘Supporting a Pupil with Cancer: a schools guide’.
It must then be ascertained without delay if the patient has been in contact with the infectious child or young person. If so, the following information must be immediately relayed to the parent/carer of the child or young person with cancer:
- What is wrong with the infectious child
- When they were last in direct contact with the affected child
- How close the contact was
- How long the contact was for
The patient’s care team need this information to decide on the best course of action.
Young Lives Vs Cancer (2025) have a comprehensive pack entitled “Cancer and school life” which has fact sheets, teaching session plans and videos linked to the lesson plans, with versions for primary and secondary school age children. CCLG have developed a ‘Supporting a pupil with cancer’ guide linked above for schools which is a great resource for teachers and people involved with a child’s care at school.
Between the Young Lives vs Cancer education pack, the school visit and the CCLG supporting guide, it is hoped that understandably curious classmates are given an opportunity to ask questions in an appropriate and supportive environment, rather than potentially allowing misconceptions to flourish and inappropriate questioning of the ill child. (Link to “what to tell siblings, friends and classmates)
Re-entry to school is a challenge for some children and young people with cancer. Some of the barriers are hair loss, fatigue, pain, reduced attention span, the school environment, anxiety, altered body image, visual / perceptual / cognitive / hearing difficulties.
The Occupational Therapist (OT), Young Lives Vs Cancer Social Worker and the Psychologist can all be helpful in assisting the child or young person to overcome these barriers. In some cases the Occupational Therapist may be required to carry out an environmental assessment of the school, to ensure the necessary adaptations are made to enable the child or young person to return to school safely and to participate in classroom activities. This is especially helpful for children with Brain Tumours and Bone Tumours where surgery may have left them with new disabilities.
Resources
There are many publications and resources to help a child or young person return to school, for them, their friends and teachers. Some of them are listed below:
Young Lives vs Cancer (2025) resources
This award-winning pack has been developed for schools where a child has been diagnosed with cancer. It is designed to help teachers communicate confidently with schoolchildren about childhood cancer, as well as help pupils understand the illness and how they can support their classmate. The pack contains:
- A lesson plan
- Guidance notes to help you prepare for and deliver the lesson
- Overview of childhood cancer and treatment
- Factsheet for pupils about childhood cancer and treatment (this can be photocopied)
- List of useful resources.
CCLG resources
References
Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG). 2014. Children and Young People with Cancer: A Parent’s Guide
Young Lives Vs Cancer Publications. 2025. Cancer and school life.
CCLG publication. 2014. Supporting a pupil with cancer.
Last reviewed April 2025